< 


A  TRIBUTE  TO 

Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown 


ADDRESS 

of 


CHIEF  JUSTICE  W.  P.  STACY 


BEFORE  THE  BARACA-WESLEY  CLASS 
EDENTON  STREET  METHODIST  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


Raleigh,  N.  C. 


SUNDAY  MORJNING 

FEBRUARY  6,  1927 
#  ** 


> 


On  Sunday,  February  6,  1927,  Chief  Justice  W.  P.  Stacy,  in 
his  address  to  the  Baraca- Wesley  Class  of  Edenton  Street  Sun- 
day School,  paid  tribute  to  the  life  and  service  of  Mr.  Joseph  G. 
Brown.  This  address,  and  many  other  tributes  to  Mr.  Brown 
coming  from  Edenton  Street  Church  and  Sunday  School,  have 
been  published  in  a  single  volume.  The  address  printed  here 
is  a  reprint  from  this  book.  Copies  of  the  book  may  be  secured 
from  the  pastor's  office. 


^teuton  ^txttt  ^ti V^tst  Cttljurci} 


Dear  Fbiend: 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  Joseph  G.  Brown,  on  January  30,  1927,  Edenton 
Street  Methodist  Church,  Raleigh,  and  its  allied  organizations,  as  well 
as  the  entire  community,  suffered  a  distinct  loss.  For  more  than  fifty 
years  he  had  been  identified  with  this  church  and  for  many  years  had 
been  its  consecrated  and  constructive  leader.  Since  his  death  many 
beautiful  and  worthy  tributes  have  been  paid  to  his  life  and  service  by 
representatives  of  its  various  organizations  and  resolutions  adopted  by 
these  organizations.  Typical  of  these  tributes  is  the  address  of  Chief 
Justice  W.  P.  Stacy  before  the  Baraca-Wesley  Class  on  Sunday, 
February  6,  1927.  This  address  has  been  printed  and  we  are  enclosing 
you  a  copy. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  there  was  a  desire  to  have  these  resolu- 
tions and  addresses  compiled  and  printed  in  a  single  volume.  A  com- 
mittee representing  the  Baraca-Wesley  Class,  the  Sunday  School  as  a 
whole,  and  the  Board  of  Stewards  for  the  entire  membership  of  the 
Church,  was  appointed  to  accomplish  this  service. 

The  Committee  is  pleased  to  announce  that  these  inspiring  addresses 
and  resolutions  have  been  collected  and  printed  in  an  attractive  volume, 
containing  a  splendid  picture  of  Mr.  Brown,  and  are  ready  for  delivery. 

As  only  a  limited  number  of  these  volumes  were  printed,  and  may  be 
had  for  $1.00,  which  represents  the  actual  cost  of  printing,  you  should 
secure  your  copy  at  once,  at  the  Church  office,  Alfred  Williams  Book 
Store,  Thiem's  Book  Store,  or  Pescud's  Book  Store. 

Respectfully, 

THE  COMMITTEE. 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2013 

http://archive.org/details/tributetomrjosep01stac 


ADDRESS  OF  CHIEF  JUSTICE  W.  P.  STACY 
BEFORE  THE  BARACA-WESLEY  CLASS 


(The  International  Uniform  Sunday  School  Lesson  for  the  day  was 
The  Parable  of  the  Talents.) 

The  scene  of  our  lesson  is  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Those  present 
are  the  disciples  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  St.  Matthew  records  that 
the  disciples  came  to  Him  privately.  They  said  to  Him  (stating 
it  in  my  own  language)  :  "Master,  tell  us  something  more  about 
this  doctrine  of  immortality  which  you  have  been  teaching  us.  Is 
it  really  true  that  we  shall  live  hereafter  ?  If  you  are  going  away 
(and  you  say  you  are),  and  you  expect  to  return,  what  sign  shall 
be  given  to  us  of  your  second  coming  ?  What  token  shall  we  look 
for  which  will  denote  the  end  of  the  world  ?"  As  was  His  custom, 
He  answered  the  disciples  in  parables,  first  using  the  parable  of 
the  fig  tree  and  then  the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins,  and  thirdly, 
the  parable  of  the  talents. 

The  time  is  but  a  short  while  before  His  crucifixion.  "For  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  He  says,  "is  as  a  man  traveling  into  a  far 
country"  (the  word  "man"  there  refers  to  the  Man  from  Galilee) 
"who  called  his  own  servants  and  delivered  unto  them  his  goods. 
And  unto  one  he  gave  five  talents,  to  another  two,  and  to  another, 
one ;  to  every  man  according  to  his  several  ability ;  and  straightway 
took  his  journey. 

"Then  he  that  had  received  the  five  talents  went  and  traded  with 
the  same,  and  made  them  other  five  talents.  And  likewise,  he  that 
had  received  two,  he  also  gained  other  two.  But  he  that  had 
received  one,  went  and  digged  in  the  earth,  and  hid  his  Lord's 
money. 

"After  a  long  time,  the  lord  of  those  servants  cometh  and 
reckoneth  with  them." 

You  remember  the  remainder  of  the  parable  with  respect  to  the 
servants  who  had  been  given  the  five  talents  and  the  two  talents, 
and  the  encomium,  "Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant"; 
and  also  with  respect  to  the  one  who  had  been  given  one  talent  and 


^Address  of  Ghief  justice  clo).  Cp.  §tacy 


used  it  not.  I  should  like  for  us  to  get  the  view  and  the  significance 
of  the  words  uttered.  I  think  I  do  no  violence  to  the  understanding 
of  some  when  I  say  that  this  passage  of  scripture  has  been  widely 
misinterpreted.  Mind  you,  He  starts  out  by  saying:  "The  King- 
dom of  Heaven" — not  Heaven,  but  its  kingdom — "is  as  a  man 
traveling  into  a  far  country."  (He,  Himself,  was  to  take  His  long 
journey  pretty  soon.)  And  he  calls  about  him  his  servants  and 
delivers  to  them  certain  talents  according  to  their  several  abilities. 
And  after  a  long  time  the  lord  of  those  servants  cometh  and 
reckoneth  with  them.  You  recognize  at  once  that  the  emphasis 
here  is  placed  upon  the  use  of  the  talents,  and  whether  or  not  the 
holders  of  those  talents  have  increased  them  and  added  to  their 
worth.  You  are  all  familiar,  no  doubt,  with  the  debate  as  to 
whether  the  Man  from  Galilee  made  any  contribution  to  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  by  His  coming  to  earth,  exercising  divinity  itself, 
and  then  returning.  In  other  words,  the  debate  has  been  as  to 
whether  a  man,  being  divine  already,  could,  by  the  assumption  of 
human  form,  add  anything  to  his  own  divinity. 

That  question  need  not  trouble  us,  nor  is  it  difficult  of  solution. 
It  is  not  a  question  of  whether  He,  by  assuming  finite  form,  made 
any  contribution  to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  whether  we  shall 
make  any  contribution. 

The  desire  for  immortality  (and  that's  the  lesson  of  the  talents) 
is  as  universal  as  the  race.  It  furnishes  the  incentive  for  every 
code  of  morals  and  the  inspiration  for  every  system  of  religious 
faith.  The  Indian  longs  for  his  "happy  hunting  ground";  the 
orthodox  Jew  contemplates  restful  repose  upon  Abraham's  bosom, 
and  the  devout  Christian,  with  ears  of  faith,  listens  for  the  plaudit, 
"Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant."  Without  this  belief 
in  and  desire  for  immortality  men  might  well  question  the  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  use  of  the  talents  which  have  been  given  to  them. 
Take  away  from  men  their  belief  in  immortality  and  you  have  but 
a  sordid  purpose,  but  a  material  end  to  be  achieved,  and  a  weak 
will  to  serve.  Indeed,  the  will  to  live  itself  would  be  greatly 
lessened.   But  a  man  may  by  his  own  efforts,  and  by  the  manner 


[4] 


^Address  of  Ghief  justice  C10.  Cp.  S^cy 


of  the  use  of  the  talents  which  have  been  given  to  him,  determine 
in  a  measure  the  character  and  the  content  of  his  own  immortality. 
The  use  which  he  shall  make  of  the  talents  entrusted  to  him  is  the 
contribution  which  he  shall  make  to  the  Kingdom  of  Righteousness. 
And  above  all,  no  man  wants  to  fail  in  the  responsibility  of 
deserving. 

There  is  a  divine  purpose  running  through  the  lives  of  men. 
And  of  however  little  moment  my  existence  or  my  being  here  may 
be  to  others,  I  can  but  think  that  it  is  in  accord  with  the  purpose 
of  the  universe,  and  every  man  must  render  in  the  end  an  account- 
ing of  his  stewardship. 

To  every  man  upon  this  earth  death  comes,  soon  or  late.  It  is 
but  a  part  of  life  itself — it  is  but  a  continuation  of  that  which  has 
already  begun.  The  Grim  Reaper  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  He 
calls  with  equal  tread  at  the  cottage  gate  and  the  palace  door.  The 
high  and  the  low,  the  young  and  the  old,  he  visits  them  all.  He 
presses  their  eyelids  down  with  dreamless  slumber  and  they  sleep 
with  the  hush  of  the  generations. 

On  last  Sunday,  in  this  very  building,  the  Messenger  of  Death 
summoned  our  beloved  Superintendent  from  the  work  he  loved  the 
best  and  decreed  for  him  that  his  days  here  should  be  no  more. 
But  our  friend  is  not  dead ;  he  is  only  gone  to  take  his  place  in  the 
schools  above,  there  to  mingle  with  the  spirits  of  just  men,  made 
perfect.  As  long  as  the  spire  of  this  church  shall  point  upward, 
and  as  long  as  men,  women,  and  children  shall  attend  Edenton 
Street  Sunday  School,  he  will  ever  live  in  the  hearts  of  his  country- 
men, for  even  in  the  kingdom  of  childhood,  and  with  those  who 
would  come  to  this  place  that  they  might  know  something  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Master,  as  he  himself  glimpsed  bits  of  the  truth 
and  transmitted  them  to  his  associates  and  to  his  students,  he  was 
building  a  monument  more  lasting  than  marble  and  more  enduring 
than  bronze. 

Raleigh  is  a  better  place  for  his  having  lived  in  it.  Banking  in 
this  community  is  safer  because  of  the  use  of  his  talents  in  that 


.ylddress  of  Ghief  justice  clo).  (p.  St&cy 


field.  Yea,  the  religious  life  of  this  community  is  richer,  and  men 
go  about  their  work,  to  their  places  of  business,  with  a  feeling  of 
greater  security  because  he  labored  here. 

There  was  about  him  the  meed  of  gentleness  and  the  fruit  of 
strength;  the  courage  of  the  true  and  the  stamina  of  the  great; 
the  heritage  of  the  meek  and  the  harvest  of  the  bold.  Truly,  a 
noble  soul !  Which  element  predominated  we  scarcely  know.  He 
gave  a  helping  hand  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  And  long 
may  it  remain  in  this  mixed  world  a  moot  question,  or  at  least  a 
point  not  easy  of  decision,  which  is  the  more  beautiful  evidence  of 
the  Almighty's  goodness,  the  delicate  fingers  that  are  formed  for 
sensitiveness  and  sympathy  of  touch  and  made  to  minister  to  pain 
and  grief,  or  the  strong  masculine  hand  that  the  heart  teaches, 
guides,  and  softens  in  a  moment. 

Many  of  you  remember  him  just  two  weeks  ago  standing  on  this 
platform,  speaking  to  you,  preaching  the  gospel  which  he  had 
preached  for  more  than  a  half  century  in  this  building,  the  gospel 
of  simple,  right,  and  honest  dealing.  The  worth  of  such  a  man 
cannot  be  measured  by  any  yardstick  known  to  us.  Words  them- 
selves are  but  feeble  instruments  to  convey  the  meaning  of  a  great 
life — and  it  is  a  serious  matter  when  a  great  life  goes  out !  Some 
of  you  know  that  in  the  great  financial  centers  of  this  country, 
where  men  deal  in  large  denominations,  the  opinion  and  word  of 
Joseph  Gr.  Brown  were  like  current  coin,  because  those  men  had 
learned  to  know  that  whenever  he  made  a  statement,  it  was  true; 
and  the  credit  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  has  been  enhanced 
by  his  character  and  integrity.  Not  only  that,  but  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  this  commonwealth  and  beyond  its  borders, 
men  and  women  owe  their  conception  of  right  to  his  teaching.  You 
approve  or  condemn  the  conduct  of  your  neighbor  according  to 
your  estimate  of  right,  and  your  neighbor  approves  or  condemns 
your  conduct  according  to  his  estimate  of  right,  the  correctness  of 
the  judgment  in  each  case  depending  upon  the  correctness  of  the 
standard  by  which  it  is  made.  As  thus  understood,  human 
judgment  imposes  an  universal  obligation.    It  is  as  much  a  duty 


[6] 


^Address  of  Ghief  justice  CW.  (p.  Stacy 


to  see  that  right  judgment  is  rendered  to  your  neighbor  as  it  is  to 
demand  it  for  yourself,  and  to  fail  in  either  is  an  immoral  act. 

Our  friend  was  a  delightful  companion  and  a  man  wholly 
without  guile.  It  was  good  to  be  in  his  presence.  There  is  no 
wealth  comparable  to  that  of  loyal  comradeship.  It  is  the  divine 
gift  that  makes  the  poor  man  rich,  and  without  which  the  master 
of  a  world  would  be  poor  indeed.  He  believed  in  a  gospel  of 
justice,  in  a  religion  of  morality,  and  in  the  efficacy  of  instant 
reliance  on  a  Greater  Power.  This  was  the  real  source  of  his 
strength  and  effectiveness.  "ISTo  man  has  earned  the  right  to 
intellectual  ambition  who  has  not  learned  to  lay  his  course  by  a 
star  which  he  has  never  seen,  to  dig  by  a  divining  rod  for  springs 
which  he  may  never  reach."  Four-square  to  every  wind  that  blew, 
he  was  the  soul  of  honor,  high-minded,  straightforward,  clean-cut, 
and  withal  a  great-hearted  fighter  for  the  right.  The  lives  of  many 
have  been  enriched  by  the  rare  charm  of  his  friendship,  and  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  knew  him  best  his  immortality  will  abide. 

Great  is  the  reward  of  a  life  well  spent,  and  its  usefulness  is  not 
lost  in  the  democracy  of  death.  There  is  an  indescribable  essence  or 
something  that  lives  on.  It  refuses  to  die  in  the  hour  of  darkened 
shades  and  in  the  evening  of  twilight  shadows.  From  the  grave, 
where  "Victors'  wreaths  and  monarchs'  gems  all  blend  in  common 
dust,"  it  flies  away  and  becomes  an  asset  of  priceless  measure — the 
full  sheaves  of  a  golden  harvest. 

Our  friend  is  dead,  but  the  value  of  his  friendship  still  lives. 
His  lips  are  voiceless,  but  his  immortality  still  speaks.  His  work 
on  earth  is  done,  but  the  influence  of  his  life  lives  on. 

"Death  is  the  veil  which 
Those  who  live  call  life; 
They  sleep,  and  it  is  lifted." 

Such  is  the  parable  of  the  talents. 


[7] 


